Day 3 help please

[jelly2010]

I’m on day 3 (50mg) of sertraline for severe anxiety and I feel absolutely awful. I’m scared to carry on but scared to give up as I need help.
My anxiety is worse than ever and I didn’t sleep at all last night.
Please let me know this will get better quickly

[venusbluejeans]

Sadly every antidepressant medication will give you side effects until it starts to change the balance in your brain..... and those side effects unfortunately tend to feel like your anxiety symptoms ramp up 100% BUT it does pass.... you have got through 3 days, keep going!! just think if you stopped now then if you decide to start another medication then you would have to start all of the hard work you have done up til now again.

I can't promise it will get better quickly BUT I can that things will get better with the side effects as your body gets used to the medication. that can take from a few days to a couple of weeks.

[panic_down_under]

I'm on day 3 (50mg) of sertraline for severe anxiety and I feel absolutely awful. I'm scared to carry on but scared to give up as I need help.
My anxiety is worse than ever and I didn't sleep at all last night.
Please let me know this will get better quickly

Unfortunately, these are typical initial side-effects of most antidepressants (ADs) caused by the initial increase in serotonin activity. They should begin to ease as bio-feedback mechanisms kick-in and reduce serotonin synthesis and expression to below baseline.

Your GP didn't do you any favours by prescribing a 50mg starting dose. The prefered start dose for GAD and other anxiety disorders is 25mg for the first week and some may need to start on an ever lower dose. However, given you've already been taking 50mg for 3-4 days there is probably no point in cutting back to 25mg now.

If the symptoms become unbearable contact your GP as there are ways of reducing their severity.

Are you taking any other medication, or supplements and is this the first time on an AD?

[jelly2010]

Thank you for your response.
I used to take fluoxetine but have been off it for at least 6/7 years.
No other medication apart from contraceptive pill

[jelly2010]

Thank you for your encouragement, I really do appreciate it

[panic_down_under]

I used to take fluoxetine but have been off it for at least 6/7 years.

For reasons still not understood the initial side-effects can become progressively more severe, and/or different, each time ADs are discontinued and restarted. They may also take a little longer to kick-in. That said, sertraline usually does so faster than fluoxetine.

[johnbol1]

Try and stick with it, excersise, distarction, eat healthy, do medistaion and mindfullness.
I went cold turkey on sertraline after taking for 7-8 weeks (stupid thing I did) and it was bad news.

I then wished Id hvae cracked on just a few more weeks,